


Hidden Treasure

by KnifeofIce



Category: Ookiku Furikabutte | Big Windup!
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-10
Updated: 2014-03-10
Packaged: 2018-01-15 05:16:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1292764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KnifeofIce/pseuds/KnifeofIce
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>BOOKSHOP AU- Hanai is a local high school literature teacher and comes upon a small treasure trove hidden in an alleyway.<br/>Inspired by <a href="http://whythemadman.tumblr.com/post/78949609282/was-literally-only-drawing-suyama-what-happened#notes">this</a> lovely piece of art.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hidden Treasure

Hanai Azusa tried not to show his eagerness for literature around his colleagues, despite the subject being his specialty and the one he happened to teach high school students.

He had spent more time than he would ever admit looking online for rare reads, coming up with nothing for the local big chain bookstores. Ready to give up after his fifth search, he had come across an interesting forum post discussing a local little bookshop that might be a good place to go if one were looking for titles that were difficult to come across.

Finding directions was easy enough, but finding the actual store itself was proving a bit of a challenge, he thought to himself as he squinted at the post-it he had jotted notes on. Looking left and right, the street appeared to be abandoned, hearing not even a wind chime as the sun began to set, casting a golden glow on the glass of the storefronts.

Hanai was about to give up, turn around and go home empty-handed and disappointed, when he noticed a sign standing on the side of the road, arrow pointing into an alley. The characters spelled out his destination on closer examination. He felt his heart pound in excitement as he ducked into the shadows and entered the door.

“Hello?” he called into the shop, noting that it was deceptively much larger on the inside. Piles and boxes of books sat in an organized mess along the outer borders of the shop, others stacked on shelves up to the ceiling, giving a comfortable, if not slightly claustrophobic feeling to the place. The vaguely musty smell of books having sat far too long on their previous owner’s shelves permeated the air, adding to the indistinct nostalgic feeling. Sure, there were newer titles sitting on a display front and center, but he knew right away this shop was meant for secondhand books to find new homes.

No answer came. Hanai turned to check the door, noting the opening and closing times to make certain the shop was open. It was. He merely shrugged, eyes hungrily beginning to scan the shelves.

It was almost overwhelming, the number of books there seemed to be, not two of them the same. Some were worn, pages yellowed, others, despite being at least his age, hardly looked opened. He got a slight thrill running his fingertips over the rough and smooth spines, some made of leather, others of cardboard stock. It was almost shameful to realize how magical this place was for a guy like him—someone his friends might never expect to be into this kind of thing. “Play/talk about sports” was generally regarded as a much more socially acceptable answer to “what do you like to do?” than “read and critically analyze literature in different languages,” after all.

He plucked one of the books off the shelf and riffled through it, attention shifting from one word in English to the next. He replaced it in its space on the shelf and moved on, doing the same as he found volumes with interesting covers, bold fonts, attention-grabbing titles.

After fifteen minutes, he found himself in his third aisle, staring in disbelief at the shelf in front of him. Carefully sliding the book out of its spot, he opened it to the table of contents and thumbed through the pages, stopping when his eyes recognized the title he was looking for.

_My angel, my all, my own self_

_only a few words today, and that too with pencil…_

His attention tunneled around the words, outside world ceasing to exist, shelves and books arching over him to isolate him from and dampen sounds that might have diverted his focus.

_Even in bed my ideas yearn towards you, my Immortal Beloved, here and there joyfully, then again sadly…_

Sounds were muted, otherwise he might have heard the soft shuffle of footsteps a couple of aisles over.

_Be calm_  
 _love me_  
 _today_  
 _yesterday._

_What longing in tears for you_  
 _You_  
 _my Life_  
 _my All_  
 _farewell._  

“‘Oh, go on loving me, never doubt the faithfullest heart.’”

So engrossed was he in the words on the page, that he gave a start when a human voice suddenly intruded on his bubble of solitude, head snapping up to the figure now before him. He had been murmuring the last few sentences on the page aloud, enjoying the way they felt rolling off his tongue.

“‘Ever thine, ever mine’…” he continued hesitantly, quietly.

“‘Ever ours’. ‘Immortal Beloved’, huh?” asked who appeared to be the bookshop owner, small smile on his face.

Hanai could feel a slight flush creep over his cheeks, burning his ears. He felt as though he were indulging in something he shouldn’t have been. The person opposite him seemed to be around his age, attractive, with a genial air about him. His mind overcame his mortification after a couple of seconds when he realized—

“You’ve read this…?” Hanai asked, shutting the book gently and holding it up for emphasis.

A slow nod as he moves the broom in his hand out of his field of vision. “I’ve read a good amount of these,” he elaborated, looking around. “Not many people come by here unfortunately, so that leaves me a lot of time to straighten up and read.” He let out a laugh and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

“I’m Suyama Shoji, the owner of this shop. I can help you find whatever you need. Ah, sorry about not being here when you walked in. I was in the back room taking stock.”

Hanai shook his head to rebuff the apology. He was still trying to process that someone that appeared to be his age had been interested in and read something so obscure. “Hanai. It’s fine, really. So, can you tell me more about your shop?”

“Well, I’m trying to get in books that you wouldn’t normally find in the bigger stores. If you tell me about some that you’ve read, maybe I could recommend others.”

Hanai couldn’t remember the last time he had ever spoken so long about some of his favorite titles. It was odd, to feel so comfortable discussing them so passionately to someone that was virtually a complete stranger. Something about the shop owner told him that the other was more than willing to listen to him. It was easy and natural. He reigned himself in a bit though when Suyama barely stifled a laugh. Again, his ears began to burn and he averted his eyes.

“Sorry, I’ve just never met someone that’s read so many of the books I have. Hard-to-come-by, no less. It’s impressive.”

Hanai paused for a second, trying not to appear so ruffled by the compliment. “A-Ah well, I’m a literature teacher.”

“A literature teacher? If there’s ever a book you’re looking for, just call up and I’ll try to find it for you. I can call you back and let you know if I find it,” he replied, moving past Hanai to grab a business card from the counter and handing it to him. Hanai received it with both hands, looking at it carefully, nodding.

“Your number?”

“What?”

“Your phone number. So I know how to get a hold of you when you place an order,” Suyama clarified, pulling a pen from his pocket and turning over a second business card.

“Oh, right!” He quickly scribbled his phone number, possibly a little too hastily in his embarrassment at the misunderstanding. He glanced at his watch. The next train would be leaving in twenty minutes. He put enough coins on the counter to pay for the book under his arm. “Thanks for your help,” he said quickly, heading towards the door, head bowed slightly.

“Please come back soon!” he heard the bookshop owner call over his shoulder. Even though he knew it was standard to say such a thing, he caught the sincerity that made his heart skip a beat.

It was about halfway home that he realized he hadn’t yet placed a book order. He supposed he would just have to go back the next day to fix that.


End file.
